Open Roles and Volunteering Opportunities
EA Summit: South Africa 2026 - Organising Team: Roles & Responsibilities
Help us make it happen - we’re hiring organisers.
A summit with this level of impact is built by a small, sharp team. We’re opening applications for paid, part-time organiser roles running roughly June to November - around 2-10 hours a week, ramping up towards October.
5 Roles: Logistics & Production Lead, Communications & Marketing Lead, Programme & Content Lead, Mentorship Lead and Volunteer Coordinator.
The last two may be combined with other roles, depending on candidates — apply for any combination.
Apply here https://tally.so/r/zxbyXM. Deadline: Sunday, 26 July. We aim to hire for these roles as soon as possible. Applications are assessed on a rolling basis and early applications are strongly preferred.
Recruitment Process & Timeline
Three short steps, designed to respect your time. We review applications as they arrive and reply to every applicant.
- Short application: one form for all roles; tick every role you'd like to be considered for. A few focused questions, no cover letter. Complete https://tally.so/r/zxbyXM by 26 July.
- Short test task: a small, realistic slice of the actual work, around 60 minutes. It shows us how you think and shows you the job.
- Interview: a 30–45 minute conversation about the role, your availability and how we'd work together. Offers follow shortly after; roles begin in July.
Note: this is our best estimate of the timeline and is subject to change. We review applications on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
About EA Summit: South Africa 2026
On Sat, 31 Oct 2026, EA Summit: South Africa returns to Cape Town for its third and most ambitious year - 150+ leaders, professionals and students from across South Africa, for a day of evidence, ideas and action on the world's most pressing problems.
Effective altruism is an intellectual project and global community that uses evidence and careful reasoning to work out how to help others as much as possible. The summit exists to introduce people to these ideas properly, connect newcomers with experienced mentors, and help capable people take their next high-impact step — a role to apply for, an initiative to start, a pledge to make. It is hosted by Effective Altruism South Africa (EASA) and run in partnership with the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA), building on successful summits in 2024 and 2025.
What we offer
- Genuinely impactful work with a small, sharp team that cares about doing things excellently
- Rates of USD15-20 per hour as a paid contractor, depending on experience
- Real ownership and autonomy in a high-trust environment, with flexible hours outside event week
- Guidance from CEA's events team and connection to organisers across Africa and beyond
- Participation in the summit itself, our active support afterwards, strong team members are first in line for future roles, and we refer good people onwards
What you provide
- Your own remote work set-up: computer and reliable internet
- Roughly 2–10 hours per week from July, ramping up steadily towards October
- Availability for a weekly meeting
- All-day availability in Cape Town for event week, including 40+ hours of focused work
- Follow-through: deadlines here are real, and the team depends on them holding
Read this before you apply. These roles are real responsibility, not a side gig you can let drift. The pay is fair but modest, parts of the work are unglamorous, and event week is intense. The reason to do it is the impact: the summit is EASA's highest-leverage event of the year, and the people in the room — and what they do next — will be shaped by how well you do this job. If that trade excites you, read on.
Roles
Communications & Marketing Lead (Urgently Hiring)
Part-time, paid contractor role · Jul–Nov 2026 · remote but Cape Town preferred, on-site in Cape Town for event week
Position overview
The Communications & Marketing Lead fills the room with the right people. The 2026 summit aims to attract highly ambitious, altruistic, action-oriented participants. That's a marketing challenge, and it's yours: messaging, channels, timeline and the targeting that brings accomplished, action-oriented people through the door. We anticipate roughly 2–10 hours per week from July, increasing towards the event and exceeding 30 hours during event week, for a total of approximately 80–120 hours.
Key responsibilities
- Develop and run the full communications plan: from announcement launch through application deadlines to the attendee guide, executed on schedule
- Own the channels: our socials, 2,000-strong mailing list, community WhatsApp, the EA Forum, partner organisations, local groups and paid ads
- Target professionals deliberately: sharpen messaging for leaders and mid-career professionals, and promote pre-summit events in cities across the country
- Write attendee-facing communications: acceptance emails, logistics emails, the attendee guide and event-app notifications; clear, warm and correct
- Develop creative materials via graphic design, video and social media, ensuring consistent branding
- Measure and adjust: track applications by channel and steer effort toward what's bringing in strong, diverse applicants
- Keep detailed records and participate in the post-event evaluation
A good candidate might have some of the following
- Experience in communications, marketing or PR — campaigns or audiences you've grown, with numbers to show
- Exceptional writing and editing, adapting voice to channel without losing the plot
- Funnel thinking: awareness, application, acceptance, attendance — and where they leak
- The organisation to run a four-month content calendar without being chased
- Experience with graphic design and video editing tools; so is having watched what works in SA social media
- Cares deeply about doing good and ambitious about having a great impact.
Logistics & Production Lead
Part-time, paid contractor role · Jul–Nov 2026 · remote but Cape Town preferred, on-site in Cape Town for event week
Position overview
The Logistics & Production Lead owns the physical reality of the summit: venue, catering, AV, signage and the run of the day. When an attendee walks in, finds their badge, eats well and never notices a single logistical seam — that's this role done well. We anticipate roughly 2–5 hours per week from August, increasing towards the event and exceeding 30 hours during event week, for a total of approximately 40-60 hours.
Key responsibilities
- Managing the venue: we have a venue confirmed, so your role is to take care of floor plans, set up and break down
- Run catering end to end: menus (vegan by default), quantities with proper buffers, and rigorous allergen labelling — the most safety-critical job at the event
- Manage AV and production: briefs, quotes, staffing on the day, and run-throughs so every session starts on time with working sound and slides
- Build the event manual: run-sheet, signage, inventory, name badges and floor plans — printed, distributed and accurate
- Cover health and safety: risk assessment, first aid, security and insurance requirements, coordinated with the venue
- Direct the logistics volunteer team for set-up, way-finding and teardown, with the Volunteer Coordinator function
- Track all expenses against budget and treat every rand as the scarce community resource it is
- Keep detailed records and participate in the post-event evaluation
A good candidate might have some of the following
- Experience in event planning, logistics or operations — things you organised ran on time
- Negotiation skills and comfort working within tight budget constraints
- Excellent organisational ability: checklists, buffers, backup plans, photographed allergen labels
- A problem-solving mindset — you fix what you see, whether or not it's "yours"
- Calm under pressure, with strong interpersonal skills across vendors, volunteers and attendees
- Cares deeply about doing good and ambitious about having a great impact.
Programme & Content Lead
Part-time, paid contractor role · Jul–Nov 2026 · remote, on-site in Cape Town for event week
Position overview
The Programme & Content Lead shapes what the day says and what people do next. This role owns the agenda end to end: speakers, workshops, mentors and the opportunity fair, so that every attendee leaves with a correct understanding of effective altruism and a concrete next step. We anticipate roughly 2–10 hours per week from July, increasing towards the event and exceeding 30 hours during event week, for a total of approximately 60–100 hours.
Key responsibilities
- Curate the speaker line-up: build the long-list with the team, prioritising local experts across global health, poverty alleviation, animal welfare, AI safety, biosecurity and effective giving
- Clear every speaker through CEA's sign-off process and act as the single point of contact for all speaker communications
- Run speaker relations end to end: inquiries, invitations, onboarding, speaker calls, slide deadlines and day-of liaison
- Design the agenda: a strong EA-101 opening, cause-area talks, at least 25% interactive sessions, structured 1-on-1 time, and a next-steps closing session
- Make every session action-oriented: work with each speaker so talks end in concrete options like roles, programmes, donations, introductions
- Design the mentor experience with the Mentorship Lead: dedicated space and structured 1-on-1 blocks where experienced community members guide newcomers
- Build the opportunity fair: solicit organisations, fellowships, pledges and groups; run expressions of interest; coordinate stalls with the Logistics Lead
- Maintain one source of truth: the agenda lives in the event app, accurate and current and keep records for the post-event evaluation
A good candidate might have some of the following
- Meaningful context on effective altruism, its causes, debates and organisations, and the ability to represent it accurately and without hype
- Demonstrable experience curating content, running programmes or managing many-stakeholder projects
- Outreach that gets replies: professional, warm, specific, brief
- Comfort saying no to a weak talk idea, a panel, or a speaker who doesn't fit
- Care for the attendee experience: pacing, breaks, decision fatigue, what a newcomer feels at 3pm
- The organisation to make slide deadlines, confirmations and the agenda hold
- Cares deeply about doing good and ambitious about having a great impact.
Mentorship Lead
Part-time, paid contractor role · may be combined with another role · remote, on-site in Cape Town for event week
Position overview
The Mentorship Lead owns the connection between newcomers and the experienced community members who can guide them; the part of the summit most likely to change what someone does next. This covers admissions review through to mentor matching and post-event follow-up. We anticipate roughly 2–3 hours per week from September, increasing towards the event, for a total of approximately 10-30 hours. This role may be combined with another role for a candidate with the experience and availability to carry both.
Key responsibilities
- Design the mentorship programme: how newcomers and mentors find each other, from pre-event matching to structured 1-on-1 blocks on the day
- Recruit and brief the mentors (20%+ of the room): experienced community members, speakers and practitioners willing to advise newcomers and make introductions
- Support admissions: review applications consistently and fairly, coordinate community-health checks with CEA, and handle sensitive cases with discretion
- Make the market efficient: with applicants' consent, surface promising attendees to mentors and speakers who could open doors for them
- Run mentorship on the day: the matching, the spaces, and the nudges that get past impostor syndrome
- Analyse and follow up: track connections made, gather feedback, and feed insights into the post-event evaluation
A good candidate might have some of the following
- Familiarity with the EA community. You have a sense of who can help whom, and why
- A keen eye for detail and a commitment to consistent decisions in subjective situations
- Warm, professional communication. People open up to you, and you handle sensitive information with discretion
- Experience with mentorship, advising, admissions or community programmes
- Commitment to equity and accessibility. The people who most need a door opened rarely ask loudest
- Cares deeply about doing good and ambitious about having a great impact.
Volunteer Coordinator
Part-time, paid contractor role · may be combined with another role · remote, on-site in Cape Town for event week
Position overview
Volunteers run almost everything on the day, so the Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for our most valuable asset. You build and lead a crew of roughly 15–25 volunteers across registration, logistics, speaker liaison and room management. We anticipate roughly 2–3 hours per week from July, increasing towards the event, for a total of approximately 30-70 hours. This role may be combined with another role for a candidate with the experience and availability to carry both.
Key responsibilities
- Define the volunteer positions, duties and shift schedules with the Logistics and Programme leads: one volunteer per 10 attendees
- Recruit a 20–30 person crew via the application system and your own scouting, organised into sub-teams (registration, logistics, speaker liaison, room management) with trusted team leads
- Manage early volunteers: Oversee volunteers supporting the planning of the event in the weeks leading up to it.
- Prepare and deliver training: briefings at least a week before the event plus a final in-person walkthrough, with clear checklists per team
- Run the crew on the day: coordinate via the volunteer WhatsApp group, keep shifts covered, and solve people-problems before they reach attendees
- Build a culture of appreciation: volunteers are thanked publicly, given feedback, and leave wanting to organise the next one
- Keep records of who did what, and participate in the post-event evaluation
A good candidate might have some of the following
- Experience coordinating volunteers or teams, ideally at events or conferences
- Experience volunteering at EA or community events yourself; you know what good briefing feels like from the other side
- Strong leadership and interpersonal skills across a diverse, cross-functional team
- Calm, decisive and visible on an intense event day
- Familiarity with people who would make strong volunteers and team leads
- Cares deeply about doing good and ambitious about having a great impact.
This Is How We Support Our Community Members Grow
Summit organising is how we find the people we trust with future opportunities. Past organisers have gone on to lead events, programmes and community-building work across the region; and when we can't place a strong candidate now, we actively refer them to other roles and opportunities, whether or not those opportunities are ours. Applying is a good way to get to know us, and for us to get to know you.
You don't need to tick every box to apply. Capable people often rule themselves out too early. If you hit most of a role's description and the mission resonates, we'd like to hear from you.
Apply via https://tally.so/r/zxbyXM by 26 July. We aim to hire for these roles as soon as possible. Applications are assessed on a rolling basis and early applications are strongly preferred.
We warmly encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, and especially welcome candidates underrepresented in this kind of work.